the glass factory.           
                                        
                                        
                                      
                                  
                                  
                                          
 several  centuries  after  it  had  last 
 belonged to us,  we went on an outing to 
 the glass  factory that bore our  family 
 name.  it had changed  owners many times 
 since  our  ancestors  death,  and  then 
 stood   abandoned   for  a  long  while. 
 finally,  the  natural  end station  for 
 the  buildings  that  survive: a museum, 
 and a gift shop.                         
                                          
 there's  a  long  time  since  my family 
 made  anything.  by  many,  we would  be 
 considered poor.                         
                                          
 there  are two  main factory  buildings, 
 domed things of  several floors, made in 
 yellow  brick. large but narrow windows, 
 reminescent    of     some    cathedral. 
 custom-made glass, of course,  large and 
 leaded, and ashen. a bit  too dark to be 
 practical.  on   the  eastern  building, 
 some are shattered.                      
                                          
 the  other one is publicly open. there's 
 a  museum, with wax  figures of my great 
 great  great  grandfather, or something. 
 various tools (or replicas) laid  out on 
 tables, with explaining texts. a lot  of 
 glass     of      varying     thickness. 
                                          
                                        
                                      
                          
                                      
                                        
                                          
 i  quickly sneak out, and climb into the 
 other   building.   the   contrast    is 
 overwhelming.   it   must   have   stood 
 derelict  for   a   long  time,  windows 
 broken,  metallic  trash  and  pools  of 
 dark  glass  all  over   the  floor.  no 
 electric  lights,  but i can see  by the 
 light that shines  in wherever  the dark 
 windows     are    missing    a    pane. 
                                          
 however, the greatest difference is  the 
 higher floors: this building  has  none. 
 it is one massive hall,  stretching away 
 infinitely above  me. somewhere up there 
 is some  great  iron  latticework,  from 
 where  chains  are suspended,  and parts 
 of  machinery  has  been  falling  down. 
                                          
 there is,  in  the middle  of  the great 
 hall,  a  thin  spiral  staircase   that 
 leads up there.  i sneak over there, and 
 take a few  reluctant  steps. after just 
 a  revolution,  i  notice that  for each 
 step the building starts  to  glow,  the 
 bricks turning  a  dark  red,  and  then 
 orange, all the  piled  up  debree being 
 lit from behind.                         
                                          
 i stop  ready to run down and  out,  but 
 there's someone  else  on  the staircase 
 with   me   now,  pressed   close.  he's 
 looking  like me,  short  hair  and thin 
 arms, but  with  ears from some  animal, 
 and  more  disturbingly, completely made 
 of dark liquid glass.                    
                                          
                                        
                                      
                          
                                      
                                        
                                          
 my  fear  holds  me  in  place while  he 
 starts operating levers  and  dials  set 
 in the center of the staircase.  slowly, 
 it  starts  spinning,  circling upwards. 
 it's  an   elevator!  i  start   to  run 
 downwards,   but   now  the  liquid  boy 
 creature grabs  hold  of  me.  i  try to 
 shake  him off, but he's too strong, and 
 pulls    me   back   up   beside    him. 
                                          
 this time,  i  turn angry  instead. what 
 the hell? who  is this  guy, acting like 
 this? i reach  out my free arm  and slam 
 a  random  lever.  some  metal  bar   is 
 suddenly released  between  us,  hitting 
 him on  the arm,  forcing  my release. i 
 shove him off of  me, and  he falls into 
 the    levers,    messing    them    up. 
 immediately,  a  thin  rusty   chainmail 
 curtain  is dropped around me.  but  the 
 elevator  also speeds up  significantly. 
                                          
 the  walls  are  flaring  now,   yellow, 
 white, almost  blue. i close my eyes and 
 curl  into  a ball. but  then, the glass 
 boy  screams,  a  piercing   sound  that 
 forces my eyes back open. i  watch as he 
 becomes  too  liquid, his  body  pooling 
 down in his now  massive tail,  and  the 
 tip  of it suddenly breaks of in a glass 
 drop   that  falls  toward  the  factory 
 floor.                                   
                                          
 he's crawling on the  stairs,  unable to 
 keep his body  upright. can't reach  the 
 levers,  claws  at  my  chainmail  cage, 
 while  his  body  is  turning into  dark 
 pearls.  finally, he's lost too much  of 
 himself  and  the  scream  is cut short. 
 the   last   of    him    rains    down. 
                                          
 i  still can't  reach  the  levers  from 
 within my  cage.  looking up,  i  try to 
 make  out  the ceiling, but it's  all  a 
 whirling sea of colours. below  me glows 
 the  hellfire of  the factory walls, but 
 very  faint. i  sit down,  curl back up, 
 become still.                            
                                          
                                        
                                      
                          
                                      
                                        
                                          
 a  large  clunk  shakes  my entire body, 
 and  snaps  me back  into  reality.  i'm 
 back  at  the  factory  floor,  but  the 
 stairs   are   still  moving   slightly, 
 clicking in place,  carrying me the last 
 few  centimeters.  i  came  from  below, 
 somehow.  the  chainmail  is  retracted, 
 and  i   slowly  dismount  the   stairs. 
                                          
 shaking and crying,  i make my  way over 
 the  factory floor,  wading through dark 
 glass marbles.  a quick glance down, and 
 i  see  there's  something faint  inside 
 them.    embryos?   are    these   eggs? 
                                          
 i   shudder,   and   climb   back   out.